HOUSTON -- The astronaut crews of NASA's
shuttle Discovery and the International Space
Station (ISS) lauded their joint mission as it passed the halfway mark
Friday.
"It has
been pretty fantastic," Discovery's STS-116
commander Mark Polansky told reporters, adding that watching the five first-time
spaceflyers on his crew has been a special treat. "They're just doing great."
Discovery's
seven-member STS-116
crew is working alongside the space station's three Expedition
14 astronauts to continue assembly of the orbital laboratory [image].
The shuttle launched towards the ISS on Dec. 9 on a 12-day
mission.
After two
spacewalks, the joint crews have installed
a new piece of the station's main truss and rewired
half of its power grid. The other half of the rewiring job is on tap for a third
planned spacewalk on Saturday, and ISS flight controllers are discussing a possible
fourth
excursion to completely tuck away a half-furled
solar array before Discovery's crew heads home.
"Of course,
we're excited about the possibility of helping out and helping make the house
up here a little bit better by fixing that solar array if we can," STS-116
mission specialist Robert
Curbeam, a veteran spacewalker, said. NASA hopes to avoid a fourth
spacewalk and stow
the array remotely if possible.
One shuttle
astronaut, Sunita
Williams, will remain aboard the ISS when Discovery undocks from the ISS.
"It's just
a nice place to live," said Williams, who joined the Expedition 14 crew after
arriving aboard Discovery. "My new home is beautiful; it's a little bit crowded
right now with all the stuff we've brought over from SPACEHAB and my shuttle compadres
here."
Williams is relieving European Space Agency astronaut Thomas
Reiter, who has lived aboard the ISS since July and will return to Earth
with Discovery's crew next week.
"Well it
certainly kind of a bittersweet moment, I should say," Reiter said of leaving
the ISS. "But having been here for half a year, of course I miss the ground, I'm
missing my family and I'm really looking forward to seeing them again."
Earlier
today, Reiter aided his fellow ESA astronaut Christer
Fuglesang, Sweden's first spaceflyer, set a new Frisbee toss world record [image].
Fuglesang,
a former Swedish national Frisbee champion, kept his Frisbee aloft for 20
seconds while Reiter timed him. The feat was part of a discussion with Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria, politicians and schoolchildren.
The
previous record, 16.72 seconds, was set by Don Cain of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, according to the World Flying Disc Federation.
"We were
actually throwing it around in the tunnel between the shuttle and the space
station, and I needed the practice," said Fuglesang, who like many of his STS-116
crewmates is making his first spaceflight. He reported some nausea, back pain
and other ailments in the first few days, but they ultimately subsided.
Fuglesang
has made his first two spacewalks during Discovery's STS-116 mission alongside
Curbeam. Their latest excursion, a five-hour outing to rewire the space station
from a temporary electrical set up to a permanent power grid.
Fuglesang
said he and his Discovery crewmates are enjoying their spaceflight, but look
forward to returning to Earth. Their shuttle, he added, is in fine shape.
"It's going
to be very fun coming back," said Fuglesang, who spent 14 years as an ESA astronaut
before launch on his first flight. "Not that I'm in a hurry to come back, but
it's going to be fun."
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